Provincial and Territorial Politics in Canada and Beyond

J08 - Roundtable: Mapping and Assessing IGR - IGR in Canada and Beyond: Comparing Configurations, Dynamic Patterns, and their Consequences

Date: May 31 | Time: 08:45am to 10:15am | Location: Classroom - CL 408 Room ID:15760

Chair/Président/Présidente : Jorg Broschek (Wilfrid Laurier University)

Participants
Nathalie Behnke (University of Konstanz)
Arthur Benz (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
André Lecours (University of Ottawa)

Intergovernmental relations (IGR) vary significantly, not only across federal systems, but also across sectors within federations. Moreover, IGR dynamics differ over time. In some instances, IGR are remarkably stable while in other instances they are highly volatile. Important indicators to compare convergent and divergent configurations and trends are, for example, the degree of institutionalization, actor constellations, modes of interaction or the degree of resilience of IGR. The purpose of this roundtable is to gain insights into the promises and pitfalls of different theoretical and methodological strategies to systematically compare IGR configurations and trends within and among federal systems. Participants will discuss the current state of research focused on IGR configurations and dynamics, and to exemplify how different theoretical and methodological approaches such as historical institutionalism, rational choice and game theory, ideational theories or process-tracing strategies can contribute to construct robust typologies and explanations of IGR dynamics.